


Lost and Found

by ereshai



Category: Original Work
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Genre-Typical Violence, Harm to Children, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 13:22:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1819960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ereshai/pseuds/ereshai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michelle will do whatever she must to keep little Tiffany safe during the zombie apocalypse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> Woohoo! Another year, another Zombie Fest.  
> I put the spoilery prompt in the end notes.

Michelle doesn’t have good days anymore; none of them do. They’ve all lost someone, several someones, of course, but the rest of them have been treating her like spun glass. It doesn’t help; every kind smile and gentle hand on her shoulder reminds her that her children are dead. Horrifically, permanently dead, and she just wants to stop thinking about them and what happened to them. She doesn’t even want to remember Before, when they were still alive, and the dead stayed dead – it’s too much.

Tiffany makes it a little easier to bear, though. She’s nothing like Michelle’s lost children, a small mercy. Caring for her isn’t the same, either; how could it be? She gives Michelle something to focus on other than her grief, and that works better than all the mindless chores and pointless patrols she has to perform every day. Keeping Tiffany safe isn’t easy, but Michelle is only doing what she hopes someone would have done for her children if they had been left alone in this nightmare.

~

_“You should talk to her.”_

_“Me? I think she’d be more comfortable talking to another woman.”_

_“Maybe if she actually spoke to me. She at least listens to you.”_

_“She gets her work done.”_

_“And then she’s gone for hours at a time. Just talk to her.”_

~

Tiffany doesn’t speak; not surprising, considering what she’s been through. Michelle only knows what to call her because of the bracelet on her right wrist - little white blocks with letters spelling out her name alternating with purple beads; she’d probably made it herself Before. Michelle is almost sorry that she knows the little girl’s name; it had been so tempting to give her a new one, to match her new life. She compromises by calling her Tiff sometimes – she has never liked the name Tiffany, and the little girl doesn’t seem to mind the nickname. Michelle tries to be respectful of her old life, though.

Michelle can’t bring herself to be openly affectionate; there are none of the hugs and kisses she used to bestow on her own children. Tiffany will reach for her, and Michelle has to pull away, hating herself. She can’t even comfort a traumatized child.

~

_“Look, she says everything’s fine. Can we just drop it?”_

_“I can’t believe you don’t see how risky her erratic behavior is for all of us.”_

_“She wouldn’t do anything to hurt the group. That would affect her, too.”_

_“She isn’t really part of the group, don’t you see? You just feel sorry for her.”_

_“Well, Christ, she looks like she’s ready to fly into tiny pieces. She needs time.”_

_“And the rest of us don’t? So, where does she disappear to?”_

_“She stays in the safe zone, and she takes her weapon. That’s enough for me.”_

_“How are you so stupid? You’re going to get us all killed. I’ll find out for myself.”_

~

Tiffany is a picky eater, and that’s a luxury they don’t have nowadays. Her own children had been picky eaters, and stubborn about it; waiting them out hadn’t worked, and it isn’t working with Tiffany. Michelle can’t force the girl to eat; she’s worried that the little girl will starve. Something will have to be done, and soon.

Hygiene is also an issue. Tiffany’s clothes are stained and worn, very much worse for the wear. Her hair is so tangled and snarled that Michelle’s going to have to chop it all off before she’ll be able to do anything with it. Tiffany has become something of a feral child, and Michelle isn’t sure if she can do anything to fix that.

~~

“Michelle.”

She wants to ignore Rob, but her place in the group is precarious enough. The others, for all their sympathy, do not like her. They won’t force her out, but if she doesn’t pull her weight, they won’t hesitate to get rid of her. Hopefully, whatever Rob wants won’t take long. Tiffany is waiting for her.

“Have you seen Cara?” Rob asks as he jogs up to her.

“Not since breakfast.” Of course it’s about Cara. If Michelle has a nemesis, it’s her. As Rob’s second in command, Cara has always felt she needs to keep Michelle on a short leash, just like the rest of the group. Michelle doesn’t agree.

“You didn’t see her on your walk?” The rest of the group wanders over, all five of them lining up in a loose arc behind Rob.

“Should I have?” The rest of them have never understood her need to be alone; to them, safety is only possible in numbers. That Michelle has never come to harm seems to have escaped their notice.

“She wanted to talk to you.”

“I find that hard to believe.” It’s no secret that they don’t get along.

“She wanted to know where you keep disappearing to,” Bill, one of the other men in the group, says.

Michelle glares at him. Bill follows Cara’s orders like a well-trained puppy.

“I stuck to my usual route. I didn’t see Cara at all.”

That sets them all to whispering.

“We should look-“ “What if-“ “Could a zom-“

“Enough,” Rob says firmly. “Michelle and I will go look for Cara. The rest of you stay here. I want double patrols of the compound until we get back.”

Compound, hah! Three buildings in a forest clearing don’t equal compound to Michelle. Patrols are a joke, as well. A lucky circumstance of geography and a small landslide they had manufactured keeps anyone but an experienced rock climber from being able to reach them. The walking dead do not fall into that category. It probably doesn’t hurt to be cautious, but they all act downright paranoid.

Michelle leads Rob along the faint path her daily walks are starting to cut into the ground. There is a lot of space to roam, but she is the only one who does. They don’t speak as they go deeper into the trees, and the quiet is occasionally disturbed by birdsong or the rustling of small animals in the underbrush. Soon enough, they reach the old wooden cabin that Michelle considers the halfway point of her outings. The roof is almost completely collapsed, and the door and windows are just empty holes. It probably used to be a hunting cabin.

“Cara!” Rob calls out, and Michelle jumps a little. He turns to her. “You ever go in there?”

“If it rains. There’s a sheltered spot right by the door.”

Rob sticks his head in. “It looks like something broke through the floor. I’m going to check.” He steps inside; the wooden floor creaks under his feet.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Michelle hovers in the doorway. It feels like the walls could come down with the next stiff breeze.

“Cara could have fallen through the floor. It looks like this place has a cellar.” He stops and takes a coil of climbing rope from his belt, ties it around his waist, and throws the other end to her. Then he pulls his flashlight out of its carrying loop and switches it on. Rob believes in being prepared. Michelle is pretty sure he thinks he’s Batman.

The boards sink under his weight, so Rob gets down on his hands and knees and crawls forward. As soon as he’s close enough, he lies down on his stomach and aims his flashlight into the hole, peering down into it.

“There’s nothing-“ The boards give way under him, and Rob starts to fall forward. Michelle, half expecting it, already has the rope wrapped around her arm; she tightens her grip on it and pulls back, using the full weight of her body as a counterweight so she won’t be dragged off her feet.

The floor hasn’t completely disappeared; only Rob’s upper half is dangling in the hole. Michelle isn’t strong enough to actually pull him out, but if he doesn’t flail around too much, she’ll be able to keep him from going in completely.

“Don’t let go!” He starts to back up and out of the hole, more chunks of wood falling away as he moves. Michelle backs up, keeping the rope taut. As soon as she is far enough outside the doorway, she sits and plants her feet on the frame.

“I’m going to pull. Be ready.” She braces herself, then slowly pulls the rope back. Rob surges up, flings himself to one side, and rolls away from the hole. He belly crawls to the door, the rope tangled around his legs. Michelle doesn’t let go until Rob crawls through the door, and then she collapses back onto the grass.

After the adrenaline wears off, Rob says, “Thanks.” Michelle flaps her hand at him, but stops mid-motion, because it _hurts_. Her palm is rubbed raw, and her fingers are cramped into a claw. Her other hand is in the same shape. Rob is sitting up, examining his own hands.

“Splinters,” he says with a grimace.

“Rope burn,” she replies, flexing her fingers to get her blood flowing again.

Rob pulls a small first aid kit out of one of his belt pouches, and they tend each other’s wounds. Michelle’s a little surprised he doesn’t have a pair of tweezers. As it is, she just slathers ointment on his hands and covers the splinters with band-aids. It will do until they get back to the others. She gets ointment and gauze for her injuries. Rob’s actually a pretty handy guy to have around.

They set off again. Despite his close call, Rob doesn’t want to go back without finishing their search for Cara. Michelle just wants to get it over with; Tiffany is waiting. Rob leads the way, although she does have to point him in the right direction whenever her faint path isn’t visible.

“Careful here,” she cautions him when they reach a steep slope.

“You come this way every day?” He’s studying the ground, trying to figure out the easiest way down.

“It’s good exercise,” she replies. She comes up behind him and hits him upside the head with a large rock. He cries out and pitches forward, sliding down the slope. He’s almost at the bottom before he fetches up against a tree. He lies there, dazed, then tries to get up.

Michelle goes down in a series of jumps and controlled slides. She reaches Rob just as he gets to his hands and knees, and she hits him again. He goes down heavily, not quite unconscious, but he doesn’t fight her when she uses his rope to tie him up. By the time she’s done, he’s out completely.

There’s a sinkhole a few yards away. Michelle drags Rob to the edge, and looks down into it. The hole is deep, though it is possible to climb in and out – she’s done it several times.

“Hello, Tiffany.”

The little girl, eyes sunken and cloudy, turns her face in Michelle’s direction. A low moan growls out of her throat. Her free hand grabs at the air. The rest of her is buried under dirt and rock.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Michelle singsongs, and she smiles. The little girl snarls.

“Michelle,” Rob says weakly. “What…why…”

“I’m pretty sure this used to be part of a mine. That looks like a support post.” She points at a rectangular piece of wood sticking out of the rubble. “I guess she was hiding. Then it collapsed.”

“Is that…” Rob is craning his neck, trying to look down into the hole.

“That’s Tiffany,” Michelle says proudly. “She’s hungry. I need to feed her.”

“For God’s sake, Michelle, you have to kill it.” Rob tries to twist away, but his hands and feet are tied together behind him. He isn’t going anywhere.

“It? She’s a little girl. You want me to kill her? You’ve lost your humanity, Rob.”

“That’s not a little girl anymore, Michelle.”

“No matter what she’s been through, she’s still a child.”

“Please, don’t do this.” Rob struggles against the rope.

“Funny, that’s what I said when you killed my children. Didn’t do me much good, either.” Michelle stands behind him and plants a foot on his back.

“Oh, God, please. They were dead, Michelle. We did what we had to do.”

“You _had_ to kill children? My babies? What kind of world is this, where people _have_ to kill kids? It’s not a world I want to be a part of.” Michelle shoves him hard with her foot. He doesn’t go over the edge, just hangs over it, like he had back in the derelict cabin. He goes completely still, and she can tell he’s noticed what else is in the pit.

“Cara? Is that Cara?”

“Oops, you caught me. Fine, I lied. I did see Cara. When she discovered Tiffany, she told me we had to kill her. As usual, I did not agree with her. But I finally found something Tiffany will eat, so some good did come out of it.” She kicks him over the edge; his yell ends abruptly when he lands with a thud.

“I hope you’re not dead,” she calls down. “Tiffany stops eating once you’re too dead. I guess she doesn’t like cold food. So picky.” Nope, she can hear his pained moans. That’s all right, then.

She’ll have to dispose of him once Tiffany’s done; she can’t have him reviving. There’s also the problem of the rest of the group. She can’t go back alone; they’ll know something’s wrong.

“I could just tell them you fell in a hole,” she says conversationally, though she’s sure Rob can’t hear her over his increasingly loud cries; Tiffany has obviously started to eat. “That should work; it is the truth, after all. That should get a couple more of them out here. I’ll have to use my gun since there’ll be more than one, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

She makes her plans, humming absently as Tiffany finishes her meal.

**Author's Note:**

> 006\. Any Fandom/Original -- a grieving mother finds a zombie child and begins raising it as replacement for her lost little one. Her group discovers the secret child she kept from them and attempts to convince her to let them kill it.


End file.
